Do Geckos Eat Bed Bugs?
Below I answer this question – do geckos eat bed bugs or what can you use to exterminate the bugs. So, will lizards help exterminate the bed bugs?
In summary, do lizards eat bed bugs? Yes, lizards (particularly geckos or house lizards) will kill bed bugs – but won’t be an effective pest control remedy.
However, Bed bugs are fast reproducers and hence lizards won’t keep up to feed on the bugs with their quick multiplication just like with other house pests. See Also: Baby bed bugs.
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Some Lizards like the Gecko will eat bugs including bed bugs – great bed bugs extermination. The pest extermination methods to use on bed bugs will reduce the sucking of human blood.
Bed bugs (Cimex hemipterus or Cimex lectularius) will invade your clothing and mattresses – these will cause bites. You may result in skin-related issues, blisters, and rashes.
- Bed bugs have an average body length of about 1 to 7 mm – and hence they’re visible – they’ll also jump onto household items, pets, and clothing.
- If there bed bugs (pests) around your house – maintain great hygiene – including in the urban area.
But can multiple lizards exterminate the bed bugs? Well, yes, lizards and geckos will feed on lizards but may also leave mess and droppings.
See Also: Roach Sprays and Gels for the House
Any Dangers Feeding Bed Bugs to Geckos?
For any lizards that are allowed to fend for themselves around your house, as a pest control measure, you won’t experience any problems – but not when adopted as a pet.
Therefore, feeding the lizards with bed bugs (that are brought from elsewhere) may not be a great idea since bed bugs are known to hold organisms causing bacterial infections.
Issues with Using Geckos to Control Bed Bugs
So, if any homeowner considers employing geckos of house lizards to eat bed bugs, they must be prepared to control different issues related to that.
1. Gecko Feces
Involving house geckos to control bed bugs will lead to different issues with undesirable effects including leaving feces on different surfaces.
The lizard droppings will be concealed in hard-to-find or dark places – near or around the kitchen cupboard that won’t be moved regularly.
The feces may be hidden in areas that are hard to notice – and you’ll notice this issue when you see flies swarming in some specific dark or partially hidden places.
2. Damaging household devices
Further, the geckos may equally cause damage to your household devices including electronics.
This may cause losses in terms of malfunctioning devices – due to electrocuted lizards.
Alternative Pests To feed to your Geckos?
Some homeowners believe that any uninvited insect must be exterminated using chemical methods – but to control the intruder, you can use different creepy-crawlies.
1. Mosquitoes
There are alternative pests that you may feed to your lizards – house lizards won’t only feed on bed bugs but will also attack the small pests running around your house and yard.
Lizards are largely diurnal, and they won’t eat numerous mosquitoes, but will opportunist capturing of the pests. But toads and frogs crepuscular & nocturnal) eat more mosquitoes.
Lizards love mosquito diets – they’ll simply stick out their sticky tongue and feed on the bugs. But lizards may not be welcome in homes that have small rodents, cats, and dogs.
Therefore, for houses that have pets, you’ll require to acquire the services of some expert exterminators for the control of the mosquitos.
- Further, lizards (many amphibians) tend to be very creepy particularly in the house basement. Lizards may also bring diseases – they love damp and warm environments.
Therefore, to help control mosquitoes, you may avoid killing the lizards you notice around your home, pantry, or garden.
2. Mice and Rats
Mice and rats will create a great food source for geckos in your spaces – even in the rented spaces – but they’ll mainly eat the young ones and rat litter.
Geckos will efficiently predate on mice and rats – geckos mainly hide in dark areas – and they’ll feed on the “pinkies” – young rats particularly while their mother rat is away.
You’ll find the lizards hanging around dark places – locations where you also get mice and rats and their younglings. Thus lizards get to snack on the pests and their “pinkies”.
2. Cockroaches
So, will geckos feed on cockroaches? Well, yes geckos and house lizards will also eat roaches and their larva. But they occupy different places – roaches love places near the ground.
On the other hand, geckos occupy spaces that are higher above the ground – they love dark, damp, and equally cool places. But house lizards will occupy dark places – also loved by cockroaches.
See Also: Animals that Eat Cockroaches
Centipedes will feed on house lizards – the bug’s wriggly motion will attract lizards that snatch them fast. You’ll get the centipedes around the house on wood beams and other wooden fixtures.
Lizards will also feed on termite swarmers that move in colonies – they have wings and hence will fly as “swarmers”.
Will House Geckos Eat Bed Bugs in captivity?
So, will house geckos feed on bed bugs while they’re in captivity? Well, yes, geckos (even when in captivity) will munch different pests including bed bugs, cockroaches, silkworms, or waxworms.
- Therefore, while the geckos are in captivity you’ll need to provide additional food and meal supplementation like vitamins.
- But ensure to check the size of the pests and insects you’re giving to the geckos to avoid choking – they must measure a maximum of the distance between the gecko’s eyes.
In addition, live crickets must not be allowed into the gecko’s enclosure space since they actually nibble and bite on your humble pests.
On gecko thirst for water, mist water in the pest’s enclosure. So, don’t pour water simply into some dish since the geckos will quench from water droplets on leaves and tree branches.
Conclusion
On the question “do geckos eat bed bugs”, Yes, geckos will feed on bed bugs but they may also bring salmonella and also leave damaged devices and drop feces.
